This symbol - [ ] - denotes mental communication over the link. I was going to use italics, but I've been using that for people's internal thoughts and needed a different way to set the communication off from the rest of the text.

June 4th – 12:27 p.m.
Mount Justice

It had been a slow day for the team. Summer was still young and the weather had been fantastic in Happy Harbor. 79 degrees and sunny skies with a slight breeze coming in off the ocean had made the perfect day at the beach, and the team didn't waste the opportunity. Robin, in his usual sunglasses, was busy harassing Connor near the water's edge. His actions were distraction though, as Wally came super-speeding up behind and got into position behind Connor. Kaldur whipped Connor with a blast of water and he fell backwards over Wally and into the water. Robin let out a cackle while Wally and Kaldur laughed at Superboy, who was trying to get up and out of the shallow water hilariously.

They quickly their childish behavior stopped when Zatanna, Artemis and M'gann walked onto the beach. Robin, Wally and Connor all quickly stood up and stared wildly as their girlfriends sauntered onto the beach. The blushing of the adolescent boys told the girls all they needed to know about their choice of swimwear. While the guys were drooling over the girls, Kaldur was, well, being Kaldur and remained as hard to read as ever.

In the nearby Cave, Thomas was cooking up his lunch. Last night, Roy had stopped by to see how he was adjusting to life in this world. The two heroes had become friends since Roy had found him in that alley a few months back.

Given that Roy was around, there'd been a little drinking involved, not that anyone else on the team needed to know that and Roy had crashed on the couch for the night. The alcohol hadn't affected Thomas, given his altered metabolism, but he'd nonetheless stayed up playing Halo with Roy until the wee hours of the morning. M'gann had just made her daily store run for Wally and had brought back supplies for various things, so Thomas decided on cooking spaghetti for himself and Roy (if the latter ever got his ass off the couch just 20 feet away.) He didn't have to wait long for that to happen.

"Ugh, why are the lights in here so bright?" Roy clearly was still feeling the effects of last night. He sat up on the old couch and put his face in his hands to block out the light. "Yeah, you probably shouldn't have let me drink so much. Way to be a real friend." The sarcasm was quite evident in Roy Harper's voice.

"Well, it wasn't like you were driving, and you're a big boy Roy. You've got plenty of experience drinking." That was probably not a good thing to say, considering the experience had been what touched off Roy's latest drinking binge. Finding out you're a clone kind of makes you question things, like your existence, sanity, and memories that you could have sworn were your own.

"Don't go there Thomas, just don't."

"Sorry man, sorry. Get over here and get something in your stomach." Roy obliged the younger man and dragged his body to the kitchen, plopping down on the wooden stool by the counter. Truth be told, Roy knew that at least the other Roy had had worse hangovers, but thinking about the "real" Roy and what that meant for him made his head hurt so he tried to change the subject.

"So, Thomas, how does it feel to be 18?"

"You mean be 18 again, right?"

"Again?"

"I thought you were in on the meeting with Batman? Anyway, I was 21 when I got pulled through to this universe. My new body is only 18 now, but mentally I'm actually 22."

Thomas saw Roy visibly tense up at the implication of Thomas being a clone. It was a touchy subject for the young archer. Trying to help out one of the few friends he had in this world, Thomas spoke up again. "You know, Roy, I get where you're at, maybe more than anyone besides Connor. I know that it isn't exactly the same, but I've been cloned and now I am that clone. If you need to vent about these things, maybe even use me as a punching bag I get it. And don't worry, I can take it. Plus, it'd give me a reason to retaliate and kick your ass."

Roy chuckled. "I know you can man, and, while I appreciate the offer this is just something I need to handle myself."

Roy's minimal response didn't sit well with Thomas, so he kept pressing while he dished up the recently finished spaghetti. "So, how's the search going?"

"Honestly, not well. We've been searching for months now. Haven't even found a small clue as to where they might have the original Roy." The way he stressed the word 'original' made Thomas glance sideways at him, but Roy didn't notice. "Things haven't exactly been good at home either."

"Women troubles?"

"You have no idea."

"Try me."

Roy took a sip of water. "Well, my gir-hell, I can't even call her that without getting my tongue sliced out. I believe her exact words for our relationship was that we're no more than fuck buddies."

"Ouch. I take it you don't see it that way."

"Look, I like her. A lot. But she's hardly ever around. And she's on exactly on the right side of the law, if you know what I mean, so I can't really talk about it with Ollie."

"Don't want to been seen as the hero who's rutting with the enemy."

Roy nearly snorted into his coffee. While he collected himself, Thomas steered the conversation back to the food.

"Well, we can hash through this after you eat. Seriously, dig in."

Roy picked up the Parmesan and sprinkled some on his plate of pasta and twirled a large pile around on his fork. Slurping it up, he was pleasantly surprised. "Dude this is awesome! Where'd you learn to cook like this?"

"My mom taught me a few tricks." Remembering his mom brought back a lot of somber memories Thomas had been trying to avoid. Given than another version of himself existed in this universe he was banned from seeing this version of his family. The kicker was that the League didn't want innocent civilians placed in harm's way if Thomas was ever identified and mistaken for this universe's version of himself. Effectively, he was cut off from not one, but two worlds. The whole situation was just maddening, and it was showing on his face as he thought things through. Roy was uncomfortable with the silence, so he quickly tried to initiate another conversation.

"So, 22, huh? Damn, and I thought I was getting old."

"Yeah, and don't you forget about it, Roy-boy."

"Why?"

"I'm kind of your elder now, bitch, and you don't disrespect your elders." Thomas smirked at the archer. "Though knowing you, that wouldn't matter. Running your mouth seems to be one of your few positive traits." Both men let out a hearty laugh at that when they remembered their first few meetings.

Roy wasn't one to just give up on a chance to get a dig in on his friend. "At least I wasn't the one who fainted after taking out a couple of bad guys in an alley."

"Hey, I was bleeding profusely from a stab wound in the shoulder and going through a physical metamorphosis! I think I deserve some slack for that."

"Sure, just keep telling yourself that, Thomas. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"Shut your cake hole and eat the food that I cooked. Asshole."

Thomas swearing and sarcastic attitude had thrown a few members of the team and the League for a loop when they first met him, but Roy understood. Thomas respected people that earned it, but wasn't going to cower to anyone on the League or take any of the crap whether he was a member or not. Heck, he was even one of the few people that he'd ever seen stand up to Batman. With civilians he was professional, courteous and generally better-spoken, but when he was with the team and his friends he changed. He let loose and was just having some honest fun. Roy liked that, and after meeting Thomas for a few times he knew that they'd be friends for a long time to come, provided neither of them died.

Stop that Roy, Roy was tired of always thinking pessimistic things, but he'd changed since he found out he was a clone. Maybe it was time to take Dinah up on here offer for counseling. She'd always been nice to him, especially when he'd screwed up and pissed off Ollie. Or at least she'd been nice to the real Roy. God, stop thinking like that!

Having finished his food, Roy stood up and collected his gear. "Thanks for the food man, I'm gonna head out."

"Anytime, you just say the word. You know the team could stand a little more maturity, feel free to drop by sometime. Kaldur and I get a little over or heads sometimes and I've only been at this a few months!"

Roy chuckled thinking of his young friends. "Yeah, Robin and Wally sure can be a handful. Doubt they'll ever grow out it. It's been fun, see you around."

"Yeah you too man, have a good one." Thomas watched as Roy left the hideout via the zeta: Recognized: Red Arrow B04. He chuckled as heard Roy's voice cry out before fading away. "It's Arsenal!"

As his friend left, Thomas turned around to see the place empty and he felt bored. With his time freed, he wondered if old Hubbard needed anything on the farm He was about to pull out his phone when the computer interrupted his thoughts: Recognized: Batman 02. The silhouette of the Batman appeared just before his body materialized out of the yellow light beam of the zeta tube.

Batman stared at Thomas for a moment before his gravelly voice demanded the young hero's attention. "Mission for the team. Assemble in the training room in 20 minutes."

As the older hero passed down the hall, Thomas tapped his comm to call the team from the beach. "Hey, you guys get the message?"

Kaldur was the first to respond to Thomas's inquiry. "Robin relayed the message from Batman moments ago. We will meet you there."

"Understood, see you in a few."

In 20 minutes, the full team was assembled along with Batman in the training room. Artemis was inspecting her bow, Robin checking his utility belt, and Kaldur was securing his water-bearers while Thomas stood on the left of the team and mentally checked off his list of gadgets, Smoke bombs? Check. Hornet's Nest? Check. Knives? After patting down his ankles, hip and wrist, Check. Bat? Check. Combat wire? Check, though only after pulling the wire out of his left wrist and pulling it all the way out before letting it snap back in. Zatanna, Superboy, Miss Martian and Wally really didn't have anything to check over, though Wally couldn't resist switching his uniform back and forth from stealth to normal. Artemis certainly noticed. "Baywatch, stop touching yourself!"

A small cough from Batman got their attention. "Your target is an unknown drug manufacturer operating in Gotham." The name Gotham certainly got their attention, as if Batman hadn't done that just by standing there.

"Gotham, sir? Isn't you and Robin's turf?" Thomas knew that Batman didn't like other heroes in his city, probably didn't want to look bad or something.

"I am going off planet; the team can handle this mission. The intelligence places the manufacturing plant at an abandoned warehouse near the docks on the northeast part of Gotham. is where for the drug."

Robin, ever the curious teenager noticed Batman hadn't said what the drug was. He was about to ask before Batman answered his question first. "The drug seems to be a variation of Scarecrow's fear gas, but he is currently in Arkham Asylum. Someone has modified his toxin and has used it in several locations around the city. The attacks have resulted in 20 hospitalizations and 12 deaths, though it will be much worse if whoever is behind this decides to attack a more populated area. These first attacks appear to be tests of the new drug. We need to move now to ensure the culprit is caught before more lives are lost. Depart immediately."

One hour later the team was nearing Gotham City. Robin had been uncharacteristically quiet aboard the bio-ship, something that the team did not fail to pick up on. Noticing the stares of the team, Robin felt he should speak up. "Fine, I think Batman may not have had all the intel to send on this mission, ok?"

Robin questioning Batman was big, it didn't happen often. Wally, having known Robin and Batman the longest, didn't let it drop. "Why man? I mean, Batman's Batman, right? If he says go, we go."

"It's just that assuming Scarecrow is in Arkham and sending us in without checking is not a smart play. If Scarecrow is somehow behind this, then we're flying into a trap. We need to be extra careful on this one guy, trust me. You haven't seen anything like Gotham villains, and with luck you never will."

The team understood the young acrobat's words-Gotham City was well known for the insanely violent and gruesome villains that plagued its streets. Other cities had Rogues, Gotham had true super villains like the Joker. Even Superman was afraid to go up against the Clown Prince of Crime because there were no rules with Gotham villains and Joker was the worst of them all. Scarecrow was in the second tier of major villains like Freeze or Riddler, but he was still not to be trifled with. With all this in mind, an uncomfortable silence settled over the team. Not even Wally had anything to say after switching his suit to stealth mode for the final time.

Only when the ship neared its target location did Kaldur break the silence. "Arrival at drop zone in 2 minutes. Prepare for exfiltration." At their leader's words, the team assembled in the center of the ship, and all but Connor and M'gann attached the safety lines to their belts. Once the ship reached its destination, a large hole opened in the floor in front of the team. Those hooked up to lines went first with M'gann slowly hovering to the ground. Connor was able to land without a sound. Thanks to a year of training, he had finally figured out how to distribute his weight and land without causing craters or seismic events. They'd all landed four blocks from their target and were going in on foot. Kaldur took immediate charge. "M'gann, link us up."

M'gann attempted the mind link, the first time she'd done so with the full team. [Everybody online?]

[Damn, this is weird!]. The whole mind link thing had kind of freaked Thomas out when Aqualad had told him about how it worked. Now that it was actually in his head it was just as weird as he expected.

Artemis empathized with the strangeness of the whole thing. [You get used to it, sort of.]

[I"ll take your word for it.]

Now that everyone was linked up, the team moved stealthily over the rooftops towards their destination. The overcast sky hid the moon masking their movements. In their year as a team, they'd all gotten better at the stealth aspect of missions, though it wasn't until Thomas's outburst at Batman that they really started to crack down on missions. That, and the fact they were somewhat maturing, made them a more effective covert team.

Thomas could tell he was in the run-down part of Gotham City. There were brick buildings long past their prime that looked like they would crumble at the slightest touch. Most of the windows were boarded up with cheap plywood. Despite the conditions, the buildings had been inhabited several years ago, but the refinery plant up the river changed all. With the prevailing winds pushing from the plant toward the homes, the smell became too unbearable for the citizens of the area and the few that remained left for another part of town. Having no one around made this location perfect for a drug producing operation, no nosey neighbors to get in the way. The team stopped across the street from the warehouse and assessed the situation.

[I've got two guards on the roof, two by the main door and two patrolling the perimeter.] Robin pulled up the blueprints of the warehouse that Batman had downloaded for him.

Kaldur appreciated the youngest member's insight into these situations, given his years of experience, and began forming a plan. [Understood, but it is likely that there are more inside. Move with caution. Kid, take the two on the door. Miss Martian, the two on the roof. Go camo to subdue them. Robin and Artemis take the last two after they've completed their next sweep. Superboy, Hawkeye, and I will move in after the guards are down.]

As the team moved out, Thomas watched as they moved quickly to complete their assigned tasks. He readied his weapon as the four reported their targets were down. At Kaldur's nod, he shot his zipline at the opposite building and he and Kaldur quickly zipline across the street. Connor simply jumped over, landing quietly beside the team.

[Dude, glad Canary helped you figure out that stealth jump.] After their first mission on Santa Prisca, Robin was glad his teammate had gotten things together.

Kaldur wasted no time on the matter. [Robin, any heat signatures in the building?]

[I count 25, those seem clustered together. Probably workers putting the product together before distribution.]

[We cannot assume that. Be ready for hostile engagement. Any other intel?]

Pointing to a place on the blueprints, Robin responded. [Based on the architecture, this location would be ideal for an office to oversee the operation. I'd try to look there for any records on the drug or its maker.]

[Agreed, make your way there with Hawkeye while the rest of us take care of the drugs and workers.]

Soundlessly the team split, with Hawkeye entering through the roof first and heading for the supposed control room. The team entered several minutes later to give them time to get the room quietly. The control room was free standing along the north wall of the old steel warehouse, so Robin and Hawkeye were able to enter through the ceiling tiles after determining the room was empty. Dropping down into the room, Hawkeye noted the computer on his left and Robin was quickly on his way to hacking through the firewalls to get the intel.

[Hack in progress. Aqualad, prepare to enter.]

[Understood, Robin, we are ready when you are.]

The mini-Robins on the screen glowed red before one by one switching to green, but there were a lot of them and it was going to take a few more minutes. Hawkeye just had to ask Robin what that whole mini-Robin thing was all about, having been told that when they verbally communicate that it wasn't transmitted mentally to the team. "Robin, what's up with the hacking thing? Mini-Robins?"

"I made the system up years ago when I was trying to hack the Batcave. I needed something to do multiple processes for me simultaneously seeing as Batman made his security so damn redundant and complex. Nothing else I've come across is anywhere near the level of his security so it usually doesn't take too long to hack, though this right here is pretty advanced for some random criminal." Robin never even took his eyes of his wrist computer while work his fingers furiously. Even when he asked Thomas a question of his own he never stopped working. "What's with the whole 'Hawkeye' thing? You needed a codename, but why Hawkeye?"

Thomas hardly hesitated in his response. "It's an Iowa thing. We're the 'Hawkeye State' and I grew up an Iowa Hawkeye fan, so it just seemed fitting."

"Really, you're based your hero name of off that?"

"Well, not only that." Thomas really didn't want to get into this during a mission, but the little shit didn't seem like he was going to let up. "Look Robin, I going to level with you here. Since Batman's your mentor, I'm assuming you've figured out my full back story." Robin gave a curt nod and went back to work. "It's simply a way to honor where I'm from, considering I can't go back home."

"I get that part, dude, why do you think I call myself Robin? It's an old nickname my mom gave me before she died when I was 8."

"Don't worry about it, man, besides, we're done here anyway." Robin unplugged the wrist computer and linked back up with the team. [Aqualad, data extracted. Let's take this place down.]

[Well done, Wally has placed the charges. Artemis, M'gann, Zatanna, Superboy and I were able to get the workers out safely. There were several guards that we have tied up with the rest of the guards we subdued earlier. We'll meet you at the rendezvous point.]

[Understood, see you guys soon.] Robin and Hawkeye went back up through the ceiling and across the rafters to the south side of the building. Both noticed the blinking lights of the charges that their speedster had placed on the load bearing beams of the structure.

[Why does Batman want this place blown up? Shouldn't the cops seize the drugs or something?] Thomas couldn't figure out why they were taking such extreme measures on this mission.

Robin, fielded the question. [Because these drugs are too dangerous for the cops to handle. If someone got exposed they'd likely die. We're still not even sure of the effects. That's why Aqualad took samples and we're blowing this place to kingdom. Thankfully this place has no surrounding population.]

[Yeah, I guess we are lucky on that one.] Something clicked in Thomas's mind and he tried to tell Robin. [Doesn't it seem a little too, I don't know, easy?]

[What do you mean?]

[Too tied up in a bow. A few guards, no members of the organization present, little population in the area so there's no worry about collateral damage? Plus how often do missions go this smoothly? Especially for you guys.]

There was no response from Robin or any member of the team on that part, it did seem just a little too neat and tidy. No one would get a chance to respond as Superboy came crashing through the west wall. He was followed by a hail of bullets that forced the team back into the warehouse through whole that Superboy had created. Robin and Hawkeye were quickly moving down to the ground below while trying to assess the situation.

[What the hell happened, Kaldur?]

[I do not know. We were double checking the restraints on the prisoners when from the shadows a Cobra-Venom creature threw Superboy through the wall. They are currently surrounding the building.]

Robin looked worried at the news. [How many?]

Kaldur's brow furrowed at the question. [I am unsure, and we were quickly forced to withdraw.] He focused on his waterbearers and controlling the wall he'd created between the team and the gunfire. [We must find a way out of here. Miss Martian, call the bio-ship. Robin find us an exit.]

M'gann's eyes glowed green as she contacted the ship. [Bio-ship is on its way. She'll be above the warehouse.]

Before Robin could move up to higher ground, 20 black-booted, gun-toting soldiers broke through the row of windows above the team and took positions on the high ground before training their weapons on the team below.

"Well, this is a disaster. Heavy on the dis-."

The team was preparing to repel an attack when a loud laugh could be heard outside the building. It grew louder as it neared the Superboy sized hole in the wall and louder still as the man behind it waltzed into the building without a care in the world. He was dressed in a crumpled suit and tie, but what threw the team off was the mask over his face. His odd voice shook them even more.

"Oh, how right you are my dear Robin, how right you are."

Robin's eyes narrowed behind his domino mask as he stepped between the newcomer and the team. "Scarecrow." The name of the villain came out of his mouth in a low snarl, the years of history and past battles between the two was evident in his demeanor.

"I take it Batman doesn't know I'm out? Lucky for me. Why else would the Dark Knight send his little birdie into my domain? I'm right, aren't I? Ha, that is just too perfect!"

As Scarecrow talked, Kaldur took the time to communicate orders to his team. [Robin, call the League. There are too many for us to handle alone.]

Robin touched the Robin signal on his chest and it began blinking, sending out an emergency signal to Watchtower. [Signal sent, cavalry will be here shortly. We need to keep him talking. Kaldur, can you protect us from the explosion? The countdown is at three minutes.]

[No, I don't have what I need to do so.]

Thomas realized with his power he just might be able to pull it off. [I might be able to keep the explosions from reaching us. I've been trying to contain explosions in the training room and I think I have it under control, but we should try to get out of here before then.

Scarecrow's voice took center stage as the team tried to find a way out of the situation. "Now, are you having a conversation without me? That's quite rude, you know. No matter, the League is just so predictable. My employers said they'd send you and they were right. How much fun it will be to break you."

The last part made Robin flinch. None of the other members of the team caught the clue as to Scarecrow's plan. "So what Scarecrow? Going to dose us with this new drug? Your employers want to know its effects and we're the perfect guinea pigs?"

"Aren't you a smart one, Robin? Yes, you'll be great subjects for my new drug. My employers are very anxious to see their plans come to fruition."

[Robin, ETA on League help?] Kaldur was growing concerned with the situation. He was leader and they had seemingly been captured.

[Watchtower just sent word. One of the GLs will be here in just over 3 minutes.]

[Time until detonation?]

[45 seconds. Hawkeye, you up for the challenge?]

[You bet your ass I am.] Thomas stepped toward the middle of the team and got ready for the explosions. [Superboy, you better hold the roof up though, I can only stop the explosions from reaching us.]

[On it.] Superboy took up position directly to Thomas's left in preparation to catch the roof.

[M'gann, can you protect us from the gas with your telekinetics?]

[Not likely, my telekinetics aren't that refined yet. And your fire won't do the trick either, it would probably kill Kaldur and I to be so near that much heat.]

[30 seconds.]

Robin's mental countdown was foreboding to the members of the team. But Robin remained calm. He needed to get Scarecrow to spill about the plans before the explosion hit.

"Plans? Don't suppose you want to tell me what they were before you gassed us?"

"Oh, but that would spoil the fun wouldn't it?" Scarecrow was gloating in his victory, but he caught Robin's quick side glance to the massive I-beam on his left. His eyes widened behind his mask.

"Everybody out!"

Before he ran Scarecrow tapped a button his wrist and loaded a dose of gas into his machine. He shot a canister towards the team and turned tail out of the building.

As the team watched his leave Artemis moved to go after him, but Kaldur stopped her. [No, Artemis!]

[5, 4, 3, 2, 1.] Explosions of white hot flame rocked the warehouse as the beams collapsed and all team members expect Thomas and Superboy ducked down to avoid the flames.

"AHHH!" Thomas screamed from the exertion of trying to contain the multiple high-yield explosions. He flexed hard and gave it all he had trying to keep the flames away from the team. The canister that Scarecrow had shot was unaffected by his abilities and had landed at the team's feet. When it exploded it knocked out the team just after the explosions died. As the roof came down, Superboy managed to stop it before inhaling the gas from the canister, though several debris pieces landed on the team. Even the Kryptonian succumbed to effects of the poison while throwing the bulk of the roof away from the team, but as he lost consciousness he heard Scarecrow talking to someone with his superhearing.

"Mission successful, the sidekicks are down. It's unlikely they'll survive the gas, move to Phase Two…."